Oct 4, 2019
Facebook encryption threatens public safety, says minister
Facebook said it is "Consulting closely with child safety experts, governments and technology companies and devoting new teams and sophisticated technology" to keep people safe. "Tech companies like Facebook have a responsibility to balance privacy with the safety of the public," Ms Patel said in the open letter, which was also signed by the US Attorney General William P Barr, Acting US Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and the Australian minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton. "She added:"So far nothing we have seen from Facebook reassures me that their plans for end-to-end encryption will not act as barrier to the identification and pursuit of criminals operating on their platforms. In 2018, Facebook made 16.8 million reports of child sexual exploitation and abuse content to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, which the National Crime Agency estimates have led to more than 2,500 arrests and 3,000 children made safe. "Head of online child safety at the NSPCC Tony Stower said:"It's an absolute scandal that Facebook are actively choosing to provide offenders with a way to hide in the shadows on their platform, seamlessly able to target, groom and abuse children completely undetected.
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